Why is Julien Royer, chef-owner of Singapore’s Odette, hot for Air France?

In case you’ve been living under an enormous rock, Odette – Julien Royer’s French fine-dining restaurant in Singapore – clinched top spot at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 awards at Wynn Palace, Macau at the end of March, ending the four-year reign of Gaggan from Bangkok.

Hot on the heels of this win, Royer agreed a one-year deal to create hot meals for Air France’s La Première and business cabins on flights between Singapore and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, starting this month.

“There are many factors apart from budget that we need to consider when developing dishes to be served at 30,000 feet,” says Royer, noting how palates are less sensitised in flight with reduced air pressure and humidity. “We have to adjust the sweetness, acidity and saltiness of dishes, ie pump in more flavours, to cater to the change in palate sensation in the air.”

He says that one of the key areas is the need to reheat food in-flight, a step that could potentially dry up the protein.

For the Air France programme, Royer said he had considered serving a pork dish from his hometown of Auvergne in central France – with green lentils and sauce charcutiere (a meat sauce with gherkins and mustard). After experimenting with pork loin, pork rib and pork belly, he settled on the latter because of a higher fat content.